Electric conducting ground-rod.



G. W. SOENGEN.

ELECTRIC CONDUCTING GROUND ROD.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 30. 1915. 1,243,774e Patented Oct.

GERALD W. SOENGEN, OF KIRKWOOD, MISSOURI.

ELECTRIC CONDUCTING GROUND-ROD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. 2s, 1917.

Application filed October 30, 1916. Serial No. 128,376.

To all @07mm it may concern.'

' Beit lknown that I, GERALD'VV. SOENGEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kirkwood, in the county of St. Louis and State'of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Electric Conducting Ground-Rod, of which the following .is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for grounding electric wires, particularly devices for grounding electric transmission lines and distributing` systems, but the invention is applicable for use wherever an efficient electrical connection to the earth is desired.

The objects of the invention are to improve the electrical eiiiciency and to reduce the cost of installation of ground rods, and to provide for the maintenance of a goed electrical connection `with the earth without loss of eificiency during the lapse of time.

The invention consists in ra ground rod having an explosive bomb or cartridge at its lower end which is exploded after the rod is driven into the ground to produce an cavity at the lower end of the rod suitable for filling with an absorbent conducting material.

The yinvention further consists in the method of producing an eflicient electrical connection between the ground rod and the earth hereinafter described, which is easy to carry out and which can be carried out 'properl'yby ordinary labor and at low cost.

Vsectional view on the line 1 1 in Fig. 2 of a ground rod, showing it after being driven into the ground ready for exploding the charge; and

Fig. Q, is a side elevation of the rod on a plane at ninety degrees from that of Fig. 1, showing the inal position of the rod as it appears after being exploded, driven slightly a second time, and the cavity partly filled with absorbent conducting material.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts in the two views.

The device shown in the drawings comprises a pipe or rod l1 having a cap 12 on its upper end. The lower end of the pipe screws into the pointed casting 13 and engages a washer 14 to bind the strands of conductors 15, 15, in place and insure a good electrical contact between them and the point.

rod. riChese strands of conductors are arranged through the opening 16 of the point casting, and extend equally on each side therefrom, with their ends bent alongside of the stem 18 of the casting toward its The bomb is made by compactly forming these strands of conductors around the cartridge of explosive material 17 and on each side of the stem 18 of the casting 13, being held in position at their ends by the collar 19 which is forced in place over the point 2O and protects the ends of the strands.

The cartridge 17 may contain about eight grams (approximately 4.5 drams) of explosive material, such as blasting powder, and is wired or tiedy to a safetyvfuse 21. The fuse extends upward inside of the rod through a packing of granulated absorbent conducting material Q2, such as coke or charcoal, and is passed out at the top of the rod through the hole 23 and its end inserted in the hole 241 and securely fastened at the top of the rod by means of a piece of friction tape'Q.

To install the rod it is driven into the ground to nearly the desired depth, as shown in Fig. 1, and the cartridge is exploded by the safety fuse.

The explosion spreads the conductors 15 and creates a cavity in the earth. |The walls 2G of the cavity are compressed by the explosion, thereby decreasing their electrical resistance. Driving the rod into the ground causes the enlarged portion of the point 1S to make a passage 27 around the rod 11 extending from the surface, and after the explosion the rod is again driven an inch or two to force the point into the bottom of the cavity and drive the conductors into the walls of the cavity, as shown in Fig. 2. Driving the enlarged portion of the point down into the cavity opens the lower end of the passage 27 around the rod and permits illing the cavity with an absorbent conducting material 28 and embedding the conductors to make a good electrical connection with the compacted earth surrounding them.

From the foregoing description the following advantages of my invention are apparent, namely, iirst, it is simple, strong, cheap to manufacture, and easy to install; second, the explosion of the bomb in the ground at the end of the rod spreads the conducting wires and drives them into the earth, and also produces a cavity into which absorbent conducting material may be poured; third, the walls of this cavity are compressed, and therefore are more effective in retaining moisture, which is advantageous because moist filling is a better conductor of electricity; fourth, the compressed earth is a better electrical conducting medium for distributing a current of electricity into the surrounding less dense earth; and fifth, the large point of the rod driven through the earth creates a path through which absorbent conducting material can' be passed and contained, and which serves as a drain for ground seepage and rain water, and the combination of absorbent conducting material and the spread conductors of the rod is thereby maintained moist and protected from corrosion.

The invention is not restricted to the de tails of construction and method of installation described.

I claim the following as my invention:

1. An electrical ground rod comprising a conductor stem having a point at its end, and a chamber in said stem adjacent to said point containing a charge of explosive.

2. An electrical ground rod comprising `a hollow conductor stem having a point at its end, a chamber in said stem adjacent to said point containing a charge of explosive, and means for exploding said charge arranged in said hollow stem.

3. An electrical ground rod comprising a tube,'apoint having a socket and screwed on the end of said tube, and a plurality of conductor strands clamped in said socket with their ends free.

4. An electricalA ground rod comprising a tube, a point having a socket and screwed on the end of said tube, a plurality'of conductor strands clamped in said socket with their ends free, and means for expanding said strands into the earth after said rod has been driven.

5. An electrical ground connector comprising a tube, a fitting on the end of the tube of larger size than the tube and adapted to be driven into the earth, a chamber near the end of the tube adapted to contain an explosive, and a plurality of' flexible con- 50 ductors grouped alongside of said chamber and connected to said tube.

'(3. Means for making electrical connection with the ground comprising a rod adapted to be driven into the ground, the end of said rod being larger than its stem whereby the hole made by said end :is larger than said stem, electrical conductors grouped alongside of said stem near said end, means carried by said rod for mak' a cavity in the earth around said end expanding said electrical conductors into said cavity, and a filling of granular conducting material adapted to be packed into said cavity around said expanded condutors through the space around said stem.

7. Means for making electrical connection with the ground comprising a rod having an enlarged point end adapted to be driven into the ground, said point end being larger than the stem of the rod whereby the hole made by said end is larger than said stem, means carried by said rod for making a cavity in the earth around Said point end, and a filling of absorbent conducting material adapted to be packed int0f said cavity through the space around Said stem, whereby 4moistureis trapped in said cavity for maintaining a good electrical connection between said rod and the surrounding earth. Y ff 8. An electrical ground connector coinprising a tube, a chamber near the end of the tube adapted to contain an explosive, a plurality of flexible conductors grouped alongside of said chamber and connected` to said tube, an explosive in said chamber, and a fuse connected to said explosive and leading through said tube, whereby the explosion of said explosive drives said c0n- 90 ductors out into the earth. i ry;

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 27th day of October, 1916.

GERALD W, SOENGEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

